me, myself And i...A Look At Assam From The Bottom Up

Assam will soon have its first tea lounge, the Assam Chai Bar, in its main city here, which will provide tourists and locals with an one-stop destination to taste or buy tea produced in the state.

The tea bar, being built on the ground floor of the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre (GTAC) here, is expected to be open for customers by August 1.

GTAC chairman Ravi Capoor, addressing a press conference here today, said the tea lounge would offer wide varieties of Assam Orthodox, Green and CTC teas, such as Second Flush, Autumnal and Rainy Season teas.

Teas from different parts of Brahmaputra and Barak valley will also be available for retail purchase as well as consumption, he said.

"It will be an exhaustive menu as far as Assam tea is concerned. It will also have Darjeeling tea so that people can contrast the taste and quality of the two," Mr Capoor, who is also the Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Government of Assam, said.

The Assam Chai Bar (The Tea Room) is being initiated by the GTAC in collaboration with North East Tea Association, Assam Tea Planters’ Association and Bharatiya Cha Parishad.

"The tea lounge will be run by the tea associations as they have better experience and are better equipped to do so," the GTAC chairman said.

He said a massive publicity blitz would be launched soon to promote the tea bar and talks have already been completed with the tourism department to ensure that the Chai Bar is included in all tourism promotion literature and advertisements.

"We are also working on putting it in the Incredible India campaign," Mr Capoor said.

The choice of the tea to be included in the menu will be done by a selection committee of experts and emphasis would be on packaging to maintain garden-fresh taste for at least three months.

The pricing would be approximately Rs 20 to Rs 200 per cup and tea varieties priced as high as Rs 4000-5000 per kg would also be available for purchase.